


You're Safe Now

by buckyscrystalqueen



Series: You're Safe Now [1]
Category: Supernatural AU
Genre: D/s relationship, Daddy Kink, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-06-22
Packaged: 2020-02-07 13:57:08
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18622006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/buckyscrystalqueen/pseuds/buckyscrystalqueen
Summary: This story deals with an age regressed reader! If that is not your trope, please don't read it!!!!It also deals with a reader that was formerly Amish and since I know nothing about that community, I did my best to do as much research as I could but I know I probably missed some things. My intention was not to intend, just to write something new.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story deals with an age regressed reader! If that is not your trope, please don't read it!!!!
> 
> It also deals with a reader that was formerly Amish and since I know nothing about that community, I did my best to do as much research as I could but I know I probably missed some things. My intention was not to intend, just to write something new.

As you got out of the Uber at the bar and grill that was hosting that months ‘Brooklyn Littles’ munch, you were actually nervous. It was the first time you had been in well over a year, and your last visit wasn’t a great experience for you. Which was probably exactly why you were nervous. You really didn’t want to run into Dan, a guy who was just looking for someone to abuse. The moment you walked in the door and took off your jacket, revealing your knee length, 3/4 length sleeve Small World dress that would just look like a colorful building patterned dress to most, you reached up to twist one of your low pigtails around your finger, swallowed thickly, and tried to avoid Dan’s eyes, unsuccessfully.

—

Sam noticed you the second you walked in the door; how could he not? You were absolutely stunning, and nothing like the littles he had run into time and time again that just saw him as a nice suit, and a meal ticket. You were the cute little who was trying to be strong and confident but looked beyond terrified at the same time. His head tilted the slightest bit to the side as he watched you walk quickly around a younger, obviously inexperienced man who leered at you like the predator he was, and his stomach turned at the terrified conflict in your eyes of wanting to flee and wanting to enjoy your night as well. There was always one asshole at these munches, and it drove him up the wall. Before the man could even leave his chair, Sam stood up and intercepted you at the bar.

“I don’t mean to be too forward.” He said calmly as he gently touched your shoulder to get your attention. “But how about you come sit by me for a bit? You don’t have to talk to me if you don’t want to. I just don’t want such a pretty little girl to fall prey to that man.” You nodded your head as you took your drink from the bartender and let the stranger lead you back over to where he was sitting. He moved you to his other side and pulled out the stool as he shot the fake Dom a glare.

“He’s the reason I haven’t come back here.” You said softly as you looked over your shoulder at Dan. “He’s a sadist that says a little would be honored to serve him. I left this place the last time in tears.”

“I’m so, so sorry to hear that.” Sam sighed with a shake of his head. “He’s an asshole that will get his one day. I’m Sam.”

“(Y/N).” You said as you tried to curl into yourself on your seat without really doing so at the same time.

“Beautiful name.” Sam said as he picked up his drink and tilted it toward you. “Pleasure to meet you.” You nodded your head in agreement as you tapped your coke against his beer bottle and took a sip. You tried to come up with something to say but you couldn’t even string together two words as you looked in the opposite direction from where Dan was staring at you with a smirk. “I’m hungry.” He said with a glance over at Dan. “Are you hungry? I see a booth that just opened up. I prefer them to tables any day.” You turned your head to look up at his warm smile and subtly nodded your head.

“I like booths more, too.” You agreed softly.

“Perfect. Come on.” Sam stood up first, purposely blocking you from Dan’s view as you stood up and brushed your hands down the sides of your dress nervously. Sam put his hand between your shoulder blades and led you through the crowd of fellow Daddies, Mommies, and little boys and girls to a booth along the back wall. He made sure to put you on the side of your table so that your back was facing the front door. “So tell me about this dress.” He said as he slipped into his side with a smile and put his beer down. “I feel like I’ve seen this pattern before.”

“It’s Small World.” You said as you looked down at the pattern with a smile. “I bought it on Etsy. I liked the ride a lot when I went to Disney years ago.”

“You’re a Disney girl?” Sam asked as he put a menu down in front of you with a smile.

“I’m constantly planning trips I never go on.” You said with a shrug. “It’s just… it’s part of my little space, I guess. I spend a lot of time in Disney World in my head.”

“Who’s your favorite?” You looked up at him from the menu with wide eyes and shook your head.

“That’s like asking me to pick a favorite stuffie. It’s against the rules of little-dom.”

“Well excuse me.” He chuckled as he pushed his long hair behind his ear. “Maybe we can break it down more. Do you have a favorite princess from the classics era?”

“Ariel.” You said as you crossed your legs up on the booth seat. “Tiana is my favorite from new generation. Tinkerbell is my favorite non-princess character, and Wall-e is my favorite Pixar.”

“You know, I haven’t seen Wall-e. Surprisingly…”

“Well, you’re wrong then.” You giggled as you looked up at the waitress. “Oh, ummm… I don’t know…”

“You know what I think is the best food here?” Sam said as he called your attention back to him. “The mini cheeseburgers. Perfect size and they taste amazing. And you gotta get a milkshake with it, too.”

“OK.” You said with a nod as you looked back up at the waitress. “Chocolate.”

“Make it two.” Sam agreed as he took your menu and handed both of them back to the waitress with a smile. “And two waters and another beer.” He said as he shook his empty bottle. She smiled and nodded her head as she put her notepad and pen back in her apron and went to put your orders in.

“How long have you been coming here?” You asked as you pulled the bottom of your dress over your knees more.

“Here, here or munch here?”

“Munch.” You said with a nod as you pulled the paper wrapper off your silverware and brought it down to play with it in your lap.

“Complicated answer.” He said as he crossed his legs over each other under the table and draped his arm over the back of the booth. “I’ve been in the life for about fourteen years. Started when I was eighteen as a sort of sub to an older female Dom who was willing to teach her point of view because I wanted to learn first hand what I would be like to be a Dom to someone else. To know what I would be asking of someone. Did that for about two years before I found a male mentor to work with further.”

“Wow.” You breathed, surprised at the dedication he put in to really understanding the lifestyle. He nodded his head as he helped the waitress put your tray of drinks out for the two of you.

“I’m a book worm.” He said with a chuckle as he picked up his second beer. “I like studying and learning everything I can about the things I’m interested in. I’ve always been dominant but when I was first learning, I realized there were too many conflicting stories of how to be this person. My mentor was the one who pointed out that I leaned more toward the Daddy persona over being a Master or the like. I’ve been coming to munches for littles for about ten years.”

“Have you had a little before?”

“I have.” He said with a slow nod. “She and I were together for about four years before she realized that the little part of the life wasn’t for her any longer. She wanted more of an S and M lifestyle than what I could give her, so we decided that it was time to go our separate ways.”

“You’re not a punisher?” You asked as you picked up your milkshake and took a small sip. Sam smiled as you shivered from the cold.

“I am. I’m a firm believer that spankings are a necessity for all little girls. But I draw a line when it comes to much harsher punishments. I personally don’t believe littles need to be smacked across the face in any sort of capacity.” You squeaked an ‘oh’ as you reached up and covered your cheek at the idea. “Yea, that’s my response as well. I personally don’t like causing severe pain. And I think bondage is a situational thing, not an every night thing, and that wasn’t enough with her.”

“Here you go.” The waitress said with a smile as she set your plates down. You gave her a warm smile and a nod as she turned to head back to work.

“OK, forgive me for asking.” Sam said as he unrolled his silverware and picked up his knife with a smirk. “Do you want them cut?” You giggled and nodded your head as you pushed your plate across the table toward him.

“Why didn’t you find another little?” You asked softly as you put your napkin on your lap. He sighed as he picked up your plate and set it back down in front of you.

“Tried to.” He said as he looked back up and offered you the ketchup. You nodded and gestured to your plate with a fry and a smile as he continued. “But nothing ever stuck. There are a lot of fakes in the DDLG world both Dom’s and littles. I’m not looking for a sugar baby. I’m looking for a little. And that takes time, and patience. Patience I am willing to put forth.”

“I get that.” You said with a nod as you pulled the tomatoes off half your first mini burger, and picked it up. “I stopped looking for a long while. I’ve found them all, the sadists, the fakes, the takers, the users…”

“What made you look again?” He asked before taking another bite of his dinner. You blushed, averted your eyes, and bit your bottom lip.

“I just wanna be me again.” You said as you looked back up. “I haven’t been able to really be little since I left home. Not that I was really all that little back then but I was also Amish. So coloring by candle light was kinda acceptable. But being little is also the reason why I left home because it’s just not acceptable to practice such “sin”. I just… I work as a CNA in a nursing home, taking care of people that can’t take care of themselves all day long. I come home to deal with a roommate that doesn’t understand the concept of washing her dishes after she uses them. I take care of people day in and day out and no one cares. No one asks if I need help, no one asks if it was hard to leave everything behind and claw my way out of the smoldering ashes that I created. Everyone just assumes that I’m all put together, and the part of me that wants to be little is just screaming to get out and just…” You shook your head and looked back down as tears spilled over into your lap. “I just wanna fucking color. That’s all. I just can’t with everything else anymore.”

“Scoot over, little one.” Sam said softly as he got up from his spot. You nodded your head and sniffled as you uncrossed your legs and scooted farther into the booth. “Give it time, princess. Just give it time.”

“I can’t.” You said as you fell into his side and just cried. “And this is not what I wanted tonight!”

“I know, sweet girl.” He chuckled as he put his arm around your shoulders and rubbed your side. “But it’s OK. It’s all gunna be OK.”

——

“You feeling a little better, little one?” Sam asked sweetly as he stood on the corner, waiting with your for your Uber before he headed back to Manhattan himself. You nodded your head as you pulled your jacket around you a little tighter to block out the cold spring breeze.

“I’m sorry I cried.” You said softly.

“Why would you be sorry for that?” Sam asked as he rubbed your back. “There’s absolutely nothing wrong with crying.”

“Yea, because every Daddy wants to find a little that just cries…”

“Little one.” He interrupted as he turned you on the sidewalk with a smile. “If a Daddy has an issue with their little getting so stressed out that it breaks them down to tears, then they do not deserve to be a Daddy. Trust me, princess. You have done nothing wrong here tonight. If anything, you made me want to see you again.” You blinked a few times and looked up at him through tear stained eyes.

“Really?” He smiled and nodded his head as he brushed a tear away with his thumb.

“Really. You’ve made me smile, you’ve made me laugh, and you’ve made me believe that there are still innocent littles out there again. I think you need me as much as I need you and if you’ll let me, I’d like the chance to get to know you. Maybe give you that mental break from the stress in your life that you so desperately need.” You sniffed and nodded your head as your Uber pulled up to the curb. “Here, take this.” He said as he reached into his jacket pocket, grabbed his wallet, and pulled out a business card. “I want you to call me. When you are ready, day or night, tonight, tomorrow, next week, or even next month. I want you to come to me when you are ready, OK? It’s the top number.”

“OK.” You said softly as you cradled the card in your hands. He gave you one more warm smile and pulled open the back door for you.

“Sweet dreams, sweetheart. I look forward to your call.”

“Thanks, Sam.” You said softly as you got in the back of the car. He nodded his head at you, and closed the door behind you with a smile.

“Take care, (Y/N).” With a small wave, you watched him take a step back and you turned in your seat to keep watching as the Uber drove away.

“You’re one lucky bitch.” The driver said as she pulled into traffic. “He’s hot.”

“He’s probably the sweetest man I have ever met.” You said as you turned back around in your seat. You smiled, looked down at the card in your hands, and ran your thumb over his raised name- Sam Winchester, attorney. “I’m gunna marry that man one day.” The driver looked up at you in the rearview mirror with a smile.

“Sweet guys are rare, so hold on to that man tight.”

“I will.” You said with a nod as you tucked the card in your bra so you wouldn’t lose it. “I know I will.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You waited three days before getting the nerve to call Sam. You wanted to wait longer, but after working two doubles at work on your supposed days off, you really, really just wanted to check out even for a minute. So you caved and called the man you knew wouldn’t mind helping you out.

“Sam Winchester.” He said after the second ring.

“Oh! Um… (Y/N)… (Y/L/N)? From the bar.”

“Well hello, little one.” You smiled and laid back down on the twin sized mattress on the floor of your sparse bedroom. “You called.”

“I called.” You said with a nod as you adjusted your long skirt over your bent legs. “Sorry if I’m bothering you.”

“You’re not.” He chuckled. “I told you to call anytime and I meant that. My number is always available to you.”

“Oh. OK.”

“So how are you today? And fine is not an acceptable answer.” A small smile pulled at your lips as you pulled your only stuffed animal out from under your pillow and curled around it.

“Tired. I got called in to work doubles on my days off…”

“Did you try to say no?” He inquired as he sat back in his desk chair in his office. “Taking care of yourself is important.”

“I’m OK.” You said with a nod. “I’m used to being tired.”

“Oh, little one. What am I going to do with you?”

“I think I’m an angel.” You said as your smile grew.

“Oh, I bet you are.” He laughed as your front door flew open and slammed against the wall. You groaned and put your stuffed animal back in her hiding spot between the wall and your bed.

“What are you doing?” Your roommate Amy demanded as she threw open your bedroom door as you asked Sam to hold on a minute. “Why aren’t you making dinner?”

“Amy, I just got home.” You sighed as you sat up and showed her your cell. “And I’m on the…”

“Don’t care.” She said as she crossed her arms and popped her hip out to the side. “I’ve been at work since nine…”

“And I’ve been at work since 11 last night.” You reminded her. “Just give me a…”

“Not good enough!” She screeched as she grabbed a vase of your desk and threw it on the ground. You cringed and hid behind your arms as she stormed out of your room and stomped across the apartment to her room.

“I’m sorry.” You said into the phone as you got up to close your bedroom door. “She’s a bit much to handle…”

“What was that?” Sam asked a little gruffly as you closed your bedroom door.

“My roommate.” You sighed as you took a step toward your closet to get your hidden broom, missing the broken shard of glass in your distraction that cut into the bottom of your foot. You yelped and stumbled to the side.

“What? What happened?”

“Nothing.” You said with a shake of your head as you carefully hobbled over to your bed. “Just stepped on some glass. Wasn’t paying attention.” You carefully pulled the glass from your foot with a hiss and watched as the blood started almost pouring out. “That’s a lot of blood.”

“OK, enough of this.” He said as he got up from his chair. “Where are you?”

“No, I’m OK.” You tried as you grabbed a scrub top from the laundry basket and tried to staunch the bleeding.

“(Y/N). Lots of blood means stitches, which means hospital trip, which means no work for a while. And your roommate seems insane and I’ve only heard her voice for all of a minute, which leads me to believe that she won’t help you out.”

“Sam…” You tried as you looked at the already blood drenched shirt in your hand.

“Address, little girl. I won’t ask again.” You sighed as you switched out the scrub top for the bottoms on the top of the laundry pile.

“I’m in Jackson Heights. 345 74th Street. Apartment 3 on the second floor. Just come in, we don’t have a lock on the door. I’m the bedroom on the right.”

“I’ll be there in half an hour. You can come stay in my guest bedroom for a while. It’s on the other side of the house from me. But you’ll be safe. I’ll keep my distance.”

“Sam?” You asked as you let the blood soaked pants fall to the floor, and laid back down on the bed. “I’m dizzy.”

“Just say awake, sweetheart. Stay with me.”

“Just a nap.” You breathed. “I gotta cook.”

“Stay with me, little one.”

——

Sam had no idea what to expect as he headed up the stairs of one of the most disgusting apartment buildings he had ever seen. He sighed, hating that anyone had to live like this, and headed up the dirt covered stairs to find your apartment. It wasn’t hard to find even before looking at the numbers because he could hear your roommate bitching from down the hall about her ‘lazy roommate’ not making dinner. With a shake of his head, he opened the front door and walked right in like you had told him to.

“The fuck are you?” Amy demanded as he walked over and pushed open your bedroom door. He hesitated for a moment as he looked around the almost empty room, the glass scattered on the floor, and you, fast asleep on a single mattress on the floor. “Look, I’m calling the cops, asshole.”

“Go ahead.” Sam said as he grabbed your laundry basket and pulled the mesh bag of clothes out of it. “We’ll be gone before they even get here.” As quickly as he could, he emptied every drawer he could find into the bag on top of the dirty clothes, before grabbing what he assumed was your bathroom bag, and finishing with the closet. He threw the bag over his shoulder and walked across the broken glass, snagged the only pair of shoes he saw, and went to pick you up off the bed, when a small, spotted stuffed animal leg caught his eye by your pillow. He huffed a laugh and grabbed the small, big eyed giraffe as well.

“Alright, come here, little girl.” He said as he shoved your stuffie in his jacket pocket before carefully picking you up.

“What are you doing? Where are you taking her? Who the hell do you think you are?” Amy rattled as Sam carried you out of your room toward the front door.

“Taking her away from you.” He said as he continued out the front door with you in his arms. “She won’t be coming back either.”

“Wait, what!?” Amy shouted as she stormed out of the apartment after him. “You can’t do that! Hey, I need her rent money!”

“Go to hell.” Sam said with a shake of his head as he jogged down the stairs.

“Sam…” You sighed in confusion.

“I’m here, princess.” He said as he used his back to push open the door of your building. “We’re going to the hospital.”

“OK.” You said with a nod as you laid your head on his shoulder and passed back out. He set you down gently in the passenger seat of his car and took a quick glance at the blood covered bottom of your foot.

“You poor thing.” He sighed as he put your seatbelt on and tossed your bag and your shoes in the back seat. He got in the drivers seat and placed your little giraffe in your lap. “You need a Daddy more than anyone, don’t you?” With a shake of his head, he pulled away from the curb and away from your stunned roommate.

——

“She’ll need to stay off it for about a while. She managed to cut a couple tendons and almost hit a muscle. She’s lucky to be alive, honestly. She severed that vein perfectly.” Sam nodded at the news and glanced over at you from the door.

“She’ll be able to walk though, right? She’s gunna be OK?”

“She’ll be just fine.” The doctor laughed as she tucked her tablet under her arm. “She just lost a lot of blood. Once we get her CBC and her white counts up a little more, she can go. She’ll wake up in time…”

“‘m’wake.” You groaned behind them.

“Hey, there she is.” Sam said as he nodded at the doctor in thanks and headed over your bed. “How you feeling?”

“‘m’cold.”

“That’s an easy fix.” He said as he pulled the blanket that he had taken off you when you had started to sweat. You hummed contently as he pulled the blankets up to your chin and tucked them in around you. “Don’t forget this little guy.”

“Luna.” You breathed with a smile as you reached out to take your giraffe. “She’s a girl.”

“Well excuse me.” He chuckled as he sat down beside you. “It’s nice to meet you, Luna.” 

“Thank you.” He nodded his head at you with a smile as he fixed the blanket some more. “You came for me.”

“Of course I did. You obviously needed help. Help that you were to little to handle.” You nodded your head and looked down, embarrassed.

“I don’t know what to do here.” You whispered. “I mean, I’m a mess.”

“Let me ask you something.” Sam said as he reached up to brush your hair back behind your ear. “Do you honestly think that you can handle your roommate anymore after this? Do you think that you going home from here is going to be beneficial to you in any way?” You shook your head as he brushed his thumb across your cheek. “You’re scared because you don’t know me. I understand completely. But you need help. You need help that no one has been willing to give to you because people are shitty. I can give you that help. Even if it’s not as your Daddy, and even if it’s only for a couple weeks. I don’t care. I want to help you. You deserve it.”

“No.” You said with a shake of your head as you curled up on your side to try to hide.

“Yes.” You looked up at him awkwardly as he reached out to rub your back. “And just so you know, I may or may not have bought Wall-e yesterday so I could watch it. So now you and Luna are just gonna have to watch it with me because… well Daddies can’t be wrong, right?” You nodded your head with a small smile.

“Wall-e!” You said in the robots voice, making Sam’s smile deepen.

“So is that a yes? You'll let me take care of you until you’re ready to go, whenever that may be?” You nodded your head and hugged Luna a little tighter.

“Yes.”


	2. Chapter 2

“It’s pink!” You squeaked as you looked around one of Sam’s four spare bedrooms.

“It is.” He chuckled as he set you down gently on the day bed he had had in there for Jess to nap on when she was in little space years before. “It’s a little play room. There’s games and DVD’s, and coloring books…”

“Ooo!” You said as you stretched your arms out and grabbed at the air before yanking them back to your chest but continuing the hand motions. “Please?”

“Which one?” Sam asked as he dropped your bag on the floor by the door to put away for you.

“Color.” You said softly as you tried to hide behind Luna to control your excitement. With a nod, he grabbed a tote box off the bottom shelf of a shelving unit and pulled off the top.

“All yours princess. You color your little heart out. We can put your favorite on the fridge. I know I have magnets somewhere.” You squeaked and threw Luna toward the pillows as you took the box from him and put it on your lap. You leaned back against the pillows and let Sam prop your foot up as you dug through the box. You grabbed a Lisa Frank one and the large box of crayons as Sam picked up your bag of clothes. “I’m gunna wash all this stuff, little one.” He said as he pulled out your bathroom bag and set it on the little play table beside a pink and purple flower china tea set. “It’ll be nice and fresh for you.”

“Oh don’t… dry them… please.” You said, starting at a normal voice before lowering it to almost a whisper. “I don’t use dryers.”

“OK. I have a hanging rack.” He said with a smile. “I’m guessing that you tend to shy away from a lot of electricity naturally?” You nodded your head, shook it, and then simply shrugged as you bit your lip.

“I’ve gotten used to having it because I’ve been here for like ten years. I grew up with having nothing like that and I did walk away from being Amish but I haven’t completely turned my back on it. I still think electricity makes people unnecessarily dependent. Phones, computers, TV shows… no one appreciates nature anymore. Or just watching people in the park. Everyone’s always so distracted all the time. But I’m not Amish anymore. I like lights. Candles are no fun. I LOVE air conditioning. I like not having to hand wash my clothes but dryers just…” You shook your head and scrunched your nose. “I no like. You will find me sitting in rooms with no lights on during the day sometimes and sometimes I’ll walk into a room and just turn off a light during a day for no reason before I realize what I’m doing. I’m hit or miss on that.”

“Well there is nothing wrong with that.” He said as he leaned on the door frame and ran his fingers through his hair. “Maybe when your foot is better we can make a little rule that… we’ll say Saturday’s, will become no technology day. We can go to the park, or Times Square, or a new museum each week and just sit and watch the people. I bet you’re creative enough to help me tell people’s stories.” Your brow furrowed and you tilted your head to the side a bit as you tried to figure out what he meant. He chuckled at how absolutely adorable you were and nodded his head. “I’ll teach ya, little one. It’ll be a lot of fun, I promise. You get some coloring done so I can get these clothes in and make a couple yucky work calls. Then you can help me find the best delivery place we can for dinner.”

“OK!”

——

You weren’t used to the dead silence anymore. For years, you had been forced to get used to sleeping with the sounds of your upstairs neighbor’s kids running back and forth across their apartment, the sounds of the bar across the road, and the lovely yelling of your roommate having sex with every and any man she could bring home. But here at Sam’s it was deathly silent. There was no yelling, no fighting, no music. Just silence like when you were young. You tried to be sneaky and slip out of bed, to do what, you weren’t sure, but you didn’t make it very far on your heel in your lovely, hospital issue walking boot.

“Where ya goin’ little one?” Sam called out from a dark room to your right before he flipped on a light. You yelped and slipped in your boot, causing you to land on your butt. “Shit.” Your bottom lip pouted out and you sniffled. You looked up at him as he jumped out of bed and came to help you up.

“It’s too quiet.” You said as he lifted you up off the floor. “I don’ like it.”

“So where were you going?” You shrugged as he carried you back to bed and laid you down again.

“I was gunna wander.”

“You know it’s late, little one. Don’t you think it would be past your bed time?” He scolded as he sat down on the bed and took off your boot for the night.

“No.” You said with a smile and a shake of your head.

“Yes.” He chuckled with a nod as he brushed his finger down your nose and bopped the end of it. “You need to heal. And healing means you need sleep. And you can’t sleep if you’re wandering around, can you? Do you want me to turn on the TV for some noise tonight?”

“Can you read to me?” You whispered as you looked up at him hopefully. He smiled and nodded his head.

“Scoot over then.” You smiled and scooted as far back as you could as he got up to grab a book from a basket by the window. “Alright, how about we start with your favorite princess tonight?” He asked as he sat down on the bed beside you. “Get comfy, princess. Where do you wanna be?” You scrambled to lay against his side and he moved his arm out of the way so you could lay your head on his chest to see. He smiled down at you, wondering how you had managed to make it so far in life all by yourself, as you grabbed Luna and sat her up on his chest as well so she could see. “All set?” You nodded your head and pulled the blankets up over his legs and you with a smile.

“Once upon a time, a little mermaid named Ariel frolicked beneath the ocean.” No matter how hard he tried, Sam couldn’t stop himself from smiling as he read. He didn’t know if you realized you were doing it, but from the moment you got comfortable until the moment you fell asleep not half way through the story, you were brushing your sock covered toes against his leg. You had the material of the muscle shirt he was sleeping in pinched between your fingers and you were almost holding it to your nose for comfort. His heart melted when he heard your soft, barely audible, baby snores and the cute little whines of protest he made when he tried to get up to go back to his room to go to bed when the book was done.

“Just for tonight.” He whispered as he carefully scooted down the bed that was way to short for him. He couldn’t help himself but to kiss your forehead and wrap you in his arms, needing to be a protector even if it was only for one night. He just needed it. “Sweet dreams, little princess.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Your nose crinkled when you woke up because your face was way to warm. You adjusted your head on the pillow and startled a bit when your pillow moved back.

“Hey, you’re OK.” Sam said softly as he hesitantly pulled his body back away from you. “You’re safe.”

“Sam?” You whined, sleepily.

“Yea, I’m here.” You nodded your head and looked up at him through squinted eyes.

“You stayed.” He chuckled and ran his fingertips across your cheek and through your hair.

“You wouldn’t let me go. Not that I really wanted to.”

“You’re gunna just keep me in little space forever, aren’t you?” You teased as you stretched in the bed. A whine escaped your lips when your stitches pulled a bit, uncomfortably. 

“Easy.” Sam reminded you, not that you needed it. You scrunched your face again and shifted on the bed so that your foot was flat again.

“No.”

“You know, you say ‘no’ a lot.” He looked down at you with his eyebrow raised and your eyes instantly shot up to look at the ceiling. “Yea, I see you, you little brat.”

“M’not!” You whined, indignantly.

“Yea, you are.” He sassed as he kissed your forehead and got up for the day. “Come on, little one. Up you get. Breakfast before play time so Daddy can go to work.” You both stopped what you were doing, you putting on your walking boot, and him grabbing one of your many knee length dresses from the closet, and he frantically shook his head. “(Y/N), I’m sorry.”

“It’s…” You tried as you shook your head. “It’s…”

“Hey, look at me.” You looked up at him with your eyes as he kneeled down in front of you with a small, tight lipped smile. “I’m sorry. That was inappropriate of me this quickly…”

“It’s who you are.” You whispered as you looked away from him. “Don’t leave…”

“I won’t leave you, sweetheart.” Sam said as he reached out to hold your hands. “But I haven’t earned your trust enough to call myself your Daddy. And expecting it is wrong of me. So I am sorry for that.”

“It’s OK.” You said with a nod. “Just don’t go’way.”

“I won’t, little one.” He repeated as he reached up to tilt your chin toward him. “I’m right here.” You nodded against his finger as you searched his concern filled hazel eyes. “So how about I make it up to you? I don’t have much to do today work wise. How about I spoil you a little? Maybe a trip to the Disney store? I think you and Luna need some friends while you’re here…” You tried really, really hard not to smile, which made Sam’s smile grow. “Yea, sounds fun to me, too. I know a couple good restaurants down that way, too.”

“You’re gunna spoil me.”

“That’s my intention.” He chuckled as he stood up and grabbed the two dresses he had picked out. “You pick.” You pointed to the pale yellow, slightly flowy dress in his left hand. “Good choice. I like that one, too. I’ll come get you when breakfast is ready.” With a nod of your head, you went back to putting on your walking boot so Sam could go get ready for work.

——

“I…” You stuttered as you looked around the Disney store with wide eyes. “I…”

“Just breathe, little one.” Sam said with a smile as he leaned down and rested his arms on the handles of the wheelchair he was borrowing from one of his co-workers for a while. “It’s big, right?” You nodded your head as you looked back over your shoulder at him with a smile. “Where do you wanna start?” Your hand darted out to point at display of stuffed animals and he nodded slowly. “You know there’s more upstairs, right?” You whined and pointed at the escalators as you bounced a little in the chair.

“Please?”

“OK, we’re going.” He laughed as he stood up straight and pushed the wheelchair slowly through the crowd toward the back of the store.

“I’ve never been here before.” You told him as you tilted your head back to look up at him. “Never been to Manhattan, honestly.”

“Really?” He asked as he turned you out of the way to wait for the only elevator. “And you’ve been in New York how long?”

“I moved to Lincoln Heights at just after my 18th birthday and I’m 27 now so nine years. I did my rumspringa in Orlando so I was there for two years before that.”

“I gotta ask.” He said as he pushed you into the waiting elevator. “What was it about Lincoln Heights that drew you in?”

“That’s where my job is.” You said with a shrug. “I got my CNA license real cheap in Florida, but it was too hot down there. So I stayed up north, accepted the first job I could, and moved in with Amy. It was just easier to stay there.”

“You don’t have to go back to work there if you don’t want to, princess. You can find somewhere here in the city that’s not as shitty as the place you were at.” You shrugged your shoulders as he pushed you out onto the second floor. “We’ve got time to figure it out, though. You’ve got stuffies to adopt.” Your hands flew up to your mouth to conceal your squeal as Sam pushed you past the group of people with a smile.

“I can’t…” You said with a shake of your head.

“I think… that we absolutely have to bring Tinkerbell and Ariel home.”

“That’s a lot…” You said as you looked at the price tags.

“Hey.” Sam said as he crouched down next to you. He reached out and pulled the tag from your fingers with a smile. “Look, money isn’t a thing. I’m a lawyer for some pretty important people, so spending two hundred bucks on babies for a deserving little girl is nothing. I don’t have anyone else to treat. My brother is a pain in the ass mechanic in Kansas where my parents are. I have this… sort of adoptive sister that is wildly independent and doesn’t take gifts unless it’s Christmas or her birthday. I don’t have any nieces or nephews. So as long as you’re staying with me, you get to be spoiled because it makes me smile to see you smile. Please, let me do this.” With a small sigh, because you were not used to spending money on just anything, you nodded your head and caved. His smile grew as he sat back on his heels a bit. “I’m gunna have to force your hand a bit, aren’t you?”

“Probably.” You giggled with a nod.

“Ok then.” He said with a single nod. “Rule of today. You have to pick out two hundred dollars worth of stuffed animals. No exceptions.” You pouted out your bottom lip and looked around at all the stuffed animals on display. 

“Scrump.” You said as you pointed to the big headed green doll from ‘Lilo and Stitch’. Sam followed your gesture and nodded his head as he got up.

“Scrump’s coming home, too.” He said with a nod as he picked up the stuffie, and walked it over to you. “Who else?”

——

“Can I ask you something, princess?” Sam inquired as the two of you waited at your table on the patio of a quaint Italian restaurant on the edge of Central Park. “And feel free to say no.”

“Well it depends on what you wanna know.” You said as you leaned toward him a bit.

“How come you left your old life?” Your smile fell a little bit and you let out a sigh as you sat back in your wheel chair.

“You don’t pick the easy questions in public, do you?” You teased as you folded your hands in your lap and started rubbing your right thumb against your left pointer finger just for something to do with your hands. Before he could take his question back, you just started. “I didn’t want to leave, honestly. Not really. My hand was kinda forced. You see, I’m the exact middle of seven daughters. Three older, three younger. AnneMarie, Alexandra, AllieMae, Me, Rebecca, Mary, Abigail. They were gunna try to keep up with the A’s but they just kinda gave up three kids in. But me and AllieMae, the two of us are Irish twins. 11 months and two days apart.”

“Didn’t waste any time, did they?” Sam said with a small smile. You giggled and shook your head.

“Mary and Abby are ten months and two weeks. They won the unofficial closeness challenge.” Sam whistled and shook his head with a laugh as he took a piece of bread from the basket to butter and split with you. “But anyways, with AllieMae and I being so close, we were naturally best friends. We shared a bunk bed, we shared chores, we shared clothes… we even hit our rumspringa at about the same time. The day I turned 16, the two of us took off, knowing we had at most two years to explore. So the first thing we did was went to Disney. 

See, we didn’t have TV but we did have a library card. We were experts on the stories, the parks, Walt Disney himself; we were obsessed. We just had to see it. Our community helped finance anyone going on their rumspringa but our older sisters did everything they could to get us down to Florida on a grey hound which was wildly unheard of. Kids actually leaving home like that. But we did. We stayed in a youth hostel for free, and we could only pay for both of us to go for one day as long as we split the cheapest things we could order for meals, but we did it. And it was the greatest day of my life. Until it wasn’t anymore.

Once she had experienced the park, AllieMae was done. She was ready to turn around and go home. Back to mother and father, back to life on the farm. Back to the monotony that was our lives. The modern world was full of way to much sin for her. She was ready to find a husband. But I wasn’t. I couldn’t go back. I needed more. I had no idea that an 8th grade education wasn’t sufficient to get a job, or that I needed a birth certificate, and that weird long number but when I applied at Disney without them, they all but laughed at me. So I got my GED, worked hard to get the documents I needed with the help of the lady at the hostel, took off my bonnet for the first time in my life, and got a job with the Mouse. Which lasted all of two weeks because it is very, very overwhelming to take the bus at sixteen years old when all you’ve known is horse drawn buggies and the like.”

“I bet.” Sam agreed as he looked up at your waitress and took the two plates from her. “Did you love it though? Working there, I mean.”

“Every minute.” You giggled as you put your napkin on your lap. “It was just as magical as I expected. But still overwhelming. So I got a job working at the nursing home across the street from the hostel I had all but moved into. Five dollars a night. I could handle that. I was a house keeper for a few months before the company I worked for offered to send me to school. I said sure, why not? But then my life changed. I met a woman named Christine. My first Mommy. That woman could pull out the little in me almost as fast as you can. I never knew that side of me existed. It wasn’t a sexual thing, she was just my protector. She taught me how to do my taxes, and how to drive a car, which I only did once. I don’t like that. She was the one that helped me learn about girl things, and makeup, and hair dye. Oh, that was so much fun! My first hair cut, too. But things changed and… well…” Sam glanced up from the bite he was cutting as your cheeks pinked.

“Look at my kinky little girl.” He teased loud enough for only you to hear. Your hands flew up to your cheeks to hide as he reached out under the table to rub your knee. 

“Stop!” You squealed as you covered your eyes for a moment. “It wasn’t like that! Just a few kisses here and there before bed, some touches that went a lot farther than they probably should of. A crazy night of drinking that left me bed ridden for like two days. But I loved it! I thrived on the sin. It was almost sickening how much I needed her. And it scared me. So I had to go. She understood, sure. She said she had seen that fear in my eyes for a couple weeks. So she helped me get back up to Pennsylvania and I went home… for all of two days.” Your smile faded as you remembered the last night you were at home and you took a moment to take a bite of your pasta. With a moan of approval, you took one more bite as Sam waited you out for the rest of your tale.

“I told AllieMae everything.” You said with a look over at him. “Which is where I went wrong. There was no issue with me getting a GED or working the way I did, apparently. But living with, sleeping with, and being with a woman in any romantic capacity is a sin that can’t be overlooked. And the scandal of the fact that I called her Mommy made it ten times worse. AllieMae couldn’t run to my parents faster if the dogs were at her. My father…” You shook your head and bit your bottom lip with a huff to keep your tears back. “My father looked me in the eyes and called me Satan’s child. Told me I was a devil worshiper, that I would never see him, or my sisters, or my “real” mother in heaven, and cast me out with the clothes on my back in the middle of the night. I became the new community cautionary tale. All because I was a little who fell in love with her Mommy.”

“Princess.” Sam sighed as he set his fork down and reached out for your hand. You nodded and smiled as you turned your hand palm up for him to lace his fingers with yours.

“I’m OK.” You said with a nod. “I could have gone back to Christine, but I was a little lost. So I found Amy, who was a cautionary tale from Alexandra’s group, through her parents who hadn’t really written her off completely. She was helpful at first but… well, you met her.”

“How are you still standing, sweetheart?” Sam asked as he let go of your hand so you could eat. You shrugged as you picked up a piece of sausage on your fork.

“I didn’t have a choice not to be.” You looked up at him with a tight lipped smile and exhaled a short breath. “But I wouldn’t have met you if I hadn’t gone through all that, right? So at least one good thing came out of all that bad.” He nodded his head in agreement as he picked his own fork back up.

“And I have no intention of letting you go anytime soon, little one. You’re too precious for this world.”


	3. Chapter 3

“Good morning, sleepy head.” Sam cooed as he walked into your bedroom and crouched down next to the bed. “It’s time to get up. You’re sleeping the day away.” You scrunched your face and pouted out your lips as he reached out to brush your hair out of your face. 

“No… sleepy…”

“I know you’re sleepy.” He said as he sat down on the floor and continued to run his fingers through your hair. “But it’s Saturday, and it’s a beautiful day outside to go explore.” His smile grew as your face relaxed and one of your gorgeous (Y/E/C) eyes peeked open.

“Esplore?”

“No technology day, remember? I was thinking we could go to the park and do some people watching and then go to the Museum of Natural History first. I think that’s one of my favorites. It’s got this big blue whale…”

“Bigger than you?” You asked as you opened both eyes.

“Mhm. Bigger than me with you on my shoulders. They have dinosaurs, too.” You sat bolt up right in bed and looked at him incredulously. 

“No way.”

“You don’t believe me, little girl?” He asked as he sat back and pretended to be hurt playfully. “Well I guess you’re just gunna have to get up and get dressed so you can see if I’m lying to you or not.”

“OK!” You said with a nod as you threw back your blankets and took your walking boot from him to get up for the day to explore Manhattan.

——

“I miss my garden.” You said as Sam pushed you through the Conservatory Garden since walking long distances was still a little painful. “I had a beautiful garden at home. Abigail, the baby of the family, would always help me with my flowers after we finished with the community garden. Goodness, I remember this one time Rebecca tried to help. It was early spring so we were digging up the dirt to plant new peony’s and she found a worm. My mother said later that she could hear her screaming from the school house.” You giggled and shook your head as you leaned forward to smell some roses.

“What’s your favorite kind of flower?” He asked as he put you between the rose bush and a bench so you could just exist in nature for a while.

“Dahlias.” You said as you looked over at him. “They’re a summer flower though. They take about eight weeks after they are planted to bloom.”

“I didn’t know that.” Sam said with a slow nod. “Do you know all the flowers?”

“I wouldn’t say all.” You giggled. “But a lot of them.”

“OK then. What’s that one?” You followed his finger and smiled.

“That’s a star magnolia. Can you at least challenge me?”

“Sassy!” He laughed as he reached out to hold your hand. “Alright, let’s see…”

——

“So I have a surprise for you.” You looked up at Sam as he looked both ways and crossed the street a few blocks before where he needed to cross for his apartment building to go home after the museum. “I work with a man named Adam. He was actually my mentor first and got me into the company I work for after. But his wife, Kate owns a little shop. A flower shop.” He turned at the end of the block and stopped in front of little florist shop. Your eyes went wide as you leaned forward to look inside the gorgeous, colorful shop.

“Sam…”

“So I have this vase.” He said as he waited for a woman to leave the store so he could push your wheelchair in. “And the vase has been empty for a long, long time. I think I need someone much more professional than me to pick some flowers out, what do you think?” You nodded as an older woman called out Sam’s name and came out from behind the counter.

“What are you doing here?”

“We are buying some flowers.” He said with a smile as he put his hand on your shoulder. “Kate, this is (Y/N). She a special friend of mine. Sweetheart, this is Kate.”

“Hi Miss Kate.” You said as you stuck your hand out toward her.

“Well aren’t you beautiful.” Kate said as she shook your hand. “I love your dress.” You thanked her as you looked at the chain necklace with a small heart shaped padlock around her neck. “I’m like you.” She said as she crouched down beside you with a wink. “Not little, but a submissive.”

“I like your necklace.” You said as you gestured to your own neck to point it out. She smiled and nodded her head as she reached up to touch the heart.

“So do I. Maybe one day you’ll have one of your own.”

“Too soon.” Sam said quickly with a shake of his head. “Way to soon. We’re going slow and taking our time.”

“There’s never a rush to these things.” She agreed with a nod. “That’s the beauty of it. Well welcome to our little family. If you ever need anything, feel free to let me know. Any friend of Sam’s is a friend of mine. So what kinda flowers are we looking for today?”

“You have dahlias out of season?” You asked as you pointed to the flowers behind her.

“We do.” She said with a nod as she stood up. “We get a lot of flowers out of season from our distributer.”

“She had her own flower garden as a kid in Pennsylvania.” Sam told his friend as he helped you out of the wheelchair so you could walk around and pick out your flowers. “She’s gunna teach me all about them.”

“Well I will leave you with the professional then.” Kate said with a smile as she pat his shoulder. “If you need help (Y/N), let me know!” 

“Thank you. I will.” You called out as you pulled some baby’s breath from the bucket to add it to your bouquet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sam could hear your little voice talking to your menagerie of stuffies the second he walked in the door. He smiled and felt the stress from the day melt away almost instantly. As quietly as he could, he set his brief case down by the door and followed your voice to your room.

“You only get one sugar Mr. Bear.” You said as you leaned across the table to drop an imaginary cube in the blue Build a Bear’s tea cup. “Because Daddy said one each.” Sam stopped just outside the door and took a step back to stay hidden for a moment. It was the first time he had heard you say his title in the two months you had been staying with him and after the day he had in court, it was almost too good to be true. “Mr. Bear! That’s a bad word! I’m telling Daddy…”

“What are you telling Daddy, princess?” Sam asked as he rounded the corner and leaned against the door frame. You startled and looked over at him before cuddling Scrump to your chest and pointing at your bear.

“Daddy, he said the f-word two whole times!”

“Mr. Bear!” Sam scolded as he walked into the room. “That is not a nice word.”

“It’s a potty word!” You said as you looked at your bear with a harsh nod.

“It’s a time out word.” He said as he picked your bear up and walked him over to the pink chair in the corner. “Two minutes for each word, Mr. Bear.”

“I told you!” You taunted as you leaned to the side and pointed at your bear. “Is bad!”

“Hey, missy.” Sam said as he rounded on you as well. “One, we don’t taunt when someone’s in trouble. And two, where’s your boot?”

“Daddy, I better!” You cheered as you grabbed your ankle to show him your foot. “The doctor said I don’ need it!”

“Well look at you!” He said as he sat down carefully in the chair Mr. Bear had been in despite the fact that it was so small, it made his knees almost touch his shoulders. “You’re all better now!” You nodded your head as you helped Scrump pour out some tea for him, you, Lady, and herself.

“I wanna stay with you.” You said as you set the tea pot down in the middle of the table.

“You can stay with me as long as you want to, princess. And if you are ready, you can sleep in the big girl bed with me so you don’t get lonely in the middle of the night anymore.”

“Really?” You said as you gave Lady a sip of her tea.

“Of course, little one. My house is your house.”

“I wanna call you Daddy, too. I’m ready.” Sam smiled as he took a sip from his empty cup.

“Baby girl, you call me whatever you want. I’m all yours.”

“And I’m all yours?” You questioned with so much hope in your eyes it filled Sam’s soul with a love he hadn’t felt in years.

“Yea princess. You’re all mine.” You smile proudly and sat up a little straighter in your chair.

“Did you have a good day with the angry people?” You asked as you took a sip of your tea.

“It was… not an easy day.” Your head whipped up to look at him and your pouted out your bottom lip.

“No!” You cried as you put Scrump in her own chair and got up from yours. Sam stretched his legs out awkwardly and leaned back so you could sit on his lap for a feel better hug. “Easy day.”

“See that’s much better.” Sam said as he wrapped his arms around your waist. “Little hugs are exactly what a bad day needs.”

“I’m magic.” He smirked and kissed your shoulder as you pet his hair to make him feel better. “I got magical powers that cure everything.”

“I know you do.” He held you a little longer, just soaking up more of the little love you gave him every day, until you sat back to look at him.

“Daddy dinner time.”

“I know it is.” He agreed with a nod at the same time his stomach growled. “Daddy missed lunch.”

“Tha’s not good, Daddy.” You said as you got up to go ‘help’ him cook by watching.

“Hey! Get back here!” You stopped halfway to the door and turned around to look at him with wide eyes. “Yea, you. Tea party isn’t gunna clean itself up, little girl.” You ‘humphed’ and headed back over to the table to put the tea set on the tray and put all the coloring books you were currently using back on the table. The stuffies went back on the bed, and all the chairs got pushed back in before you skipped over to Sam and stuck your hand out for him to hold.

“So did you think anymore about your job?” He asked as he walked you to the kitchen with your hand swinging back and forth in his.

“I don’t wanna go back.” You said with a shake of your head.

“Did you think anymore about what you would do?” You shrugged as you stopped at the bar for him to pull out your chair.

“I don’t know what else I can do.” You sighed as you waited for him to push you in before you crossed your arms on the bar and rested your chin on them.

“Well let’s see.” He pretended to think for a minute since he already had a suggestion in mind for you as he pulled out the chicken breast he had cut into chunks and marinated in teriyaki sauce the night before, a bag of mixed veggies you had picked up after your doctors appointment on the way home, and a bag of rice from the cabinet. “What does my little girl like to do?”

“I color!” You said as he set the rice bag, a pan, and a measuring cup on the counter in front of you.

“Only to the ‘one’ line.” He reminded you as you sat up to do your part of the cooking. “And you can’t color professionally, little one. Sorry. What else do you like?” You huffed and tried to think as you carefully poured out the rice. Sam glanced over at you as he started cutting up the veggies for a little stir fry. “Think about what we do on our exploring days.” You looked up at him and pushed the rice pan toward him so you could tie off the bag.

“We go to the park.” He nodded his head slowly and came over to grab the rice to get that on the stove, and told you to keep thinking. “The museum?”

“What else?” You smiled and sat up a bit in your chair as you kicked your feet back and forth.

“We go see Kate!”

“We go see Kate.” He repeated with a nod. “I was talking to Adam on the way home from work and he said that Kate needed an extra hand in the store…”

“Yes!” You interrupted with a giggle.

“Can I finish my sentence, please?” He chuckled as he came over to grab the bag of rice. “So impatient, little girl. Yea, so Kate needs help and she specifically asked for you because you are so good at picking out the bouquets we bring home. So I said I’d ask you if you would want to work for her instead of going back to the nursing home. She’s gunna teach you everything you need to know.” He said before you could doubt your ability to start a new career. He tossed the chicken and the veggies in a warm pan, and came over to you with a smile. “So what do you think? You said you missed your garden…”

“Yes!” You said again.

“OK, then.” He laughed with a nod as he pat your hand. “We can go and talk to Kate first tomorrow and get a work schedule that works for you.” You cheered and clapped your hands as your Daddy went back to cooking dinner with a smile. “Hey, don’t forget you gotta set the table, princess.”

“I won’t Daddy.” You said as you scooted off the stool and went over to grab silverware. You wrapped your arms around Sam’s waist, carefully and gave him a light squeeze. “Thank you, Sam. For being so good to me.”

“Of course, sweetheart.” He said as he turned part way in your arms and looked down at you. “Like I’ve always said, you deserve it.” With a small nod, you stood on the tiptoes of your good foot and very hesitantly gave him your first kiss. You felt him smile against your lips before you pulled away, embarrassed. He cup your jaw in his hand and searched your eyes. “There’s no rush, baby girl. I am in no hurry.”

“I know, Daddy.” You whispered with a nod. “I trust you.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I don’ wanna get outta bed, Daddy.” You whined as you curled yourself into Sam’s chest some more to hide from the chilly home air conditioner.

“You have to get outta bed, little girl.” He said as he snuggled you closer and hugged you tighter. “We both have work.”

“I don’ like it.” You said with a shake of your head. “It’s cold.”

“Little girl, didn’t I tell you not to complain if you made it that cold in here last night?” He said as he leaned back to look at you with his eyebrow raised. You quickly chased his body to hide.

“No.” You squeaked when Sam gave you a firm swat under the blankets for lying.

“What was that?” He asked again as he squeezed your butt.

“I promised I’d get up when you told me, Daddy.” You squealed as he gave you one more spank.

“That’s what I though you said.” He pushed you back by your hip to look at you with a small smirk. “You are a little stinker.”

“I’m cute though.” You said with a cheeky smile as he threw the blanket off both of you. “No, Daddy!”

“Up you get.” He said as he sat up and stretched. You scowled at his back for only a moment before your phone rang on your bedside table. Sam turned around to look at you with his eyebrow raised. “Who’s calling you at 6 am?” You shrugged as you rolled across the bed and grabbed your phone.

“(Y/N)?” You bolted up right in bed and instantly started to panic at the sheer terror in your baby sister’s voice.

“Abigail?” You said as you looked over at Sam. “What are you doing?!”

“(Y/N), I need help.” She gasped, her voice distorting the slightest bit, suggesting she was looking around. “Please help me.”

“Abigail, where are you?” You demanded as you got up on your knees as if that was going to help you. “Abigail!”

“Library.” She finally responded in a whisper. “Come to the house tonight. After father goes to bed. I’ll be in your old room. Please! Please hurry!”

“Abigail!” You repeated as she hung up the phone, probably to run back home before your father realized she wasn’t getting ready for work. You started to choke on air and Sam jolted across the bed to hold you.

“OK, it’s OK.”

“I have to go.” You said as you held on to his arms so you wouldn’t shake so much. “I have to help her. I have to go tonight…”

“Hey, breathe (Y/N). Just breathe for me, OK.” You nodded your head and started to cry.

“Sam, she’s terrified.” You sobbed as you looked up at him. “Something’s wrong.”

“OK.” He agreed with a nod. “We’ll go help her. But I need you to calm down, baby. Calm down or you’ll hyperventilate.” You nodded your head and took a choppy breath as the worst possible outcomes raced through your head.

“We have to go.” You said after about ten minutes when you had calmed yourself down. “We have to…”

“We’ll go.” He said with a nod as he sat back and cupped your jaw in his hand. “We have to get through the day and then we can go help her. I promise, I will let you go, baby. But we both know there’s nothing we can do until tonight, right?”

“OK.” You breathed as he sat up a bit to kiss your forehead. “OK.”


	4. Chapter 4

“Honey, I have to ask. How old is Abigail?” Sam said as you led him down the main road just in the tree line on foot to where your community was. Your brow furrowed the slightest bit as you pushed up a low tree branch and waited for Sam to duck under it before letting it go again.

“Let’s see. I’m twenty-seven so that would make her twentyyyy… one. Yea, twenty one. Why?”

“Because I have a strong feeling that we are bringing her home with us. And if she was under sixteen we could both be arrested for kidnapping a minor.” You hesitated for a moment, and looked back at him with your eyebrows raised.

“They wouldn’t call the police. They would just assume that she ran away. Younger kids, maybe. But not a teenager.” He huffed and shook his head.

“That seriously blows my mind.”

“Yea, welcome to the Amish.” You said as you stopped at the edge of the community and turned right to go down to your old house. “But when you’re raised in it, you don’t really know better, you know? You just follow the leader… stupid pants.” You hissed as your jeans caught on a branch. “This is why I wear dresses.”

“Yea, but your butt looks cute in jeans.” Sam whispered beside you as you came to a stop behind the fifth house down. You looked over at him with a small smirk as you crouched down in the shadows.

“This is serious ninja stuff Daddy.” You hissed with a smile. “No booty talk.”

“I’ll talk about my little girl’s booty whenever I want to.” He said as he crouched down beside you. With a huff, you stood up a bit and side stepped over to sit down on his knees. “So where am I looking?”

“This house here.” You said as you pointed to the small three bedroom with a single candle lit in the front window. “Father usually goes to sleep early because he gets up before everyone else. See.” He looked over at the house as the candle was pulled away from the front window. Sam nodded and rested his chin on your shoulder with a sigh. “I miss the stars.” You said as you looked up at the night sky. “It’s so peaceful out here.”

“Dean and I used to watch meteor showers on the hood of my dad’s Impala when we were younger. We’d sneak out and drive about an hour outside Lawrence where there were no lights.”

“You don’t see skies like this in the city.” You said with a shake of your head. Sam hugged you a little tighter and picked up his head to look at you better.

“I will take that as another challenge. To find my little girl a view of the stars in the city.” You smiled at him as you reached up to gently touch his cheek. Very slowly, you leaned forward and gave him a gentle kiss, still a little unsure about such intimacy. Sam, who was more understanding than you could possibly imagine, pulled away a few seconds later so you wouldn’t feel overwhelmed, just in case. “Come on, little one. Candle’s out.”

“It’s the third widow from the back on the other side. Just stay low.” The two of you ducked out of the woods and walked quickly through the grass to your old bedroom. You peaked into your parents bedroom at the back of the house to make one hundred percent sure that the candle was out on the way, and you could already hear your dad’s snores through the glass. You walked a little quicker, glancing over at AnneMarie’s house next door to make sure she and her husband weren’t awake before gently tapping your nail on your bedroom window.

“Abigail.” You hissed a second before the light of a match flickered in the window. You peered in the glass but took a full step back when a little boy that didn’t look much older than seven or eight looked back at you. You knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was your younger brother because he looked so much like all of your sisters. A second little boy appeared beside his twin before Abigail moved them both out of the window to open it for you.

“I have to leave.” She said as she picked up a bag and passed it through the window to you. “I’m pregnant.”

“What? Who’s…”

“Doesn’t matter.” She said as you passed Sam the first bag and grabbed the second. “I’m gay.”

“Oh goodness me.” You said as you grabbed a third bag. “How much more do you have?”

“I’m still grabbing things.” She said as she glanced over her shoulder. You nodded and dropped the two bags in your hands.

“Daddy, help me in.”

“You have to be quick, baby girl.” He said as he put the bag in his hands down and helped pick you up to push you through the window. Abigail grabbed your upper body and helped pull you in and your little brothers each grabbed a leg to help, too.

“You’re (Y/N).” One of them said softly in the high Germain dialect known as Pennsylvania Dutch as you got to your feet. “You don’t look bad.”

“I’m not, sweetheart.” You said with a shake of your head as you kneeled down in front of them. “I’m just different like Abigail. And father and mother didn’t like that.” They nodded their heads as you got up to help your sister pack.

“I’m Eli.” The one that originally spoke said as he came up to your side to help shove things in the bag you were holding. “That’s Noah.”

“It’s so great to meet you.” You said as you looked over at him. “I really wish I had known about you sooner.”

“Father said we can’t talk to you.” Noah said as he took a step closer. “But God says we forgive…”

“I know he does, Noah.” You tied off the bag with a sigh and looked over at the boys as Abigail grabbed the bags from the bathroom and brought them over to the window. “But it’s better this way. So I want both of you to make me a promise that you…”

“(Y/N).” Your head whipped around and you stood up quickly as your mother held her candle up a little higher to see you. You side stepped between her and Abigail as your two brothers ran and dove into their beds so they wouldn't get in trouble. “What are you doing here? You’re not welcome in this house.”

“I’m helping Abigail.” You told her with a shake of your head as you used your foot to pull the last bag toward you to pass it out the window to Sam. “She’s leaving.”

“You’ve corrupted her some how.” She said as she took a step toward you. “I knew you’d destroy this family.”

“Daddy, help her.” You called out quietly and evenly over your shoulder. “Get her to the car…”

“(Y/N)…”

“Sam.” You said as you looked back at him. “Please.” He nodded at you as your mother recoiled in her spot.

“You disgust me.” Your mother said as she stepped back. “Wait until your father hears…”

“He won’t have a chance.” You said as you glanced back to make sure Abigail was gone. “Good bye, mother. Boys, I love you both no matter what.”

“Jedidiah!” You mother screamed as you turned and jumped out the window as fast as you could. You grabbed the last two bags off the ground and ran back to the trees where Sam and Abigail were actually waiting for you.

“Go, go, go!” You said as you hit your sister in the side with one of the bags. “Father’s up!”

“This was a bad idea.” Sam said as he followed you and Abigail back to the main road.

“We got her out, didn’t we?” You asked over your shoulder as you raced toward his car.

“You call him Daddy?” Abigail asked from between the two of you as your boyfriend unlocked the doors.

“Get in the car, Abigail.” You snapped back at her as you pulled open the back door for her and tossed the bags across the seat.

“Hey, be careful with that!” She said as you got into the passenger seat and moved your legs so Sam could close your door on the way past.

“Abigail…”

“It’s Abby now.” She said as she scooted into the middle seat to see you. “At least, that’s what my girlfriend called me.”

“How are you pregnant then?” You asked her as Sam backed out of the car’s hiding spot and got back on the road quickly.

“AllieMae.” She sighed as you turned in your seat long enough to put her seatbelt on for her before putting on your own. “See, I told Mary about June… that was my girlfriend’s name. I met her at the library and man she was so pretty. And her lips…”

“Abigail.” You barked as Sam reached over to take your hand. “Pregnancy story.”

“Right.” She said with a nod as she sat back in her chair. “So I told Mary who told Rebecca about June, and Rebecca told AnneMarie, who told AllieMae. And AllieMae came to me and said that I just needed to be with a man and that I’d be cured.”

“Oh, my Goddess.” You said, causing Sam to smile because you had picked that up from Kate at work instead of swearing and he thought it was absolutely adorable. “Who’d she pick?”

“Isaiah Beiler.” You hummed and nodded in approval.

“She’s got taste.” You said with another glance over your shoulder. “He was a cutie.”  
“Princess.” Sam warned as he squeezed your hand. 

“Sorry, Daddy.” Abby looked between the two of you before she continued.

“Anyways, I slept with him. More to shut AllieMae up over anything, but I got pregnant. And I wasn’t about to tell father because then I’d have to marry Isaiah and no matter how cute he is, well… he doesn’t have boobs.”

“Abby!”

“What?!” She laughed as you turned around to look at her. “Look, I’ve heard a lot worse come out of your mouth, sister.”

“Oh, is that so?” Sam chuckled.

“You know, I don’t find it necessary to say ‘fuck’ or ‘shit’ or ‘Goddamn’ all the time, thank you.” You said cheekily with a smile, knowing that you wouldn’t get in trouble for swearing for a few hours.

“That’s one.” Abby asked ‘one what’ as you continued to smile at your Daddy. “I wouldn’t push your luck, little girl. Knock that smirk off your face, or I can skip two all together.” Your smile fell instantly as he glanced over at you. “That’s what I thought.”

“Well damn.” Abby said with a nod. “OK then.”

“So what happened?” You asked as you squeezed Sam’s hand and looked back again.

“Well.” She sighed as she took off her bonnet and tossed it aside. “When I was late, I faked sick so I could go to the doctor. And when I got the positive test, I called you…”

“So what are your plans now?”

“That, I don’t know.” She said as she sunk into the back seat. “I actually have no idea.”

“Well you can stay with us.” Sam said as he glanced back in the rear view mirror. “I have a couple guest bedrooms. And I’m a lawyer as well so we can get the paperwork filled out for your birth certificate and a social security card quickly. Then maybe we can talk to Kate and see if she needs another flower savvy basket assistant. Get you a job so you can find your own place. How’s that sound?”

“I’ll help you pay…”

“No, you won’t.” You looked up at Sam as he pulled onto the interstate with a small shake of his head. “It’s fine, little one. Don’t you worry about it, OK?” You nodded your head as he pulled your hand up to kiss your knuckles. “Why don’t the two of you get some sleep. We got a long drive back.”

“I’ve got no problem with that.” Abby said as she used her bags of clothes as a pillow and laid down across the back seat. “See you bitches in the morning.”

“Abigail!” You said as she laughed since she was swearing just to get on your nerves. “Quit!”

“Yes, mother.”

“OK, we can just take her back now.” You said with a look over at Sam. “Just drop her off in the middle of the road… Ow! Don’t kick me!”

“Girls! Don’t make me pull this car over!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“How did you get this lucky?” You asked as you carried a bucket of dirty water out of the freshly washed bathroom back to the kitchen of Kate’s daughter’s old apartment. “I lived in squaller for years and you get a three bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side for maybe a third of what it’s worth…”

“It’s all about who you know.” Abby said with a smile as she wrung out both of your rags. “And when you leave the community I guess.”

“Yea and who you know is sticking her neck out on the line for you so you could keep your savings for a while.” You said with a look over at her.

“(Y/N), I know.” She said with a nod as she reached out to grab your wrist. You looked over at her as she smiled and nodded her head. “I know the risk you’re taking. It’s a lot of money and you worked so hard for that safety net and I could never, ever repay you for that sacrifice. But I will. It will be hard but I will.”

“I know you will.” You said with a nod as you turned back to refill your bucket to wash the living room floors, walls, and windows because while the house wasn’t dirty, it had been empty for over a year. “Because that’s what we do. That’s how we were raised.”

“Speaking of.” She said as she came over with the rags. “You need to just relax. You’ve been gone from home for ten years and yet you are still only wearing long dresses with long sleeves.”

“Abigail…”

“Do you think you’re going back or something? Because I hate to break it to you, but you’re not. You’re here and you’re not even enjoying the world you live in now. Look at what you were in Orlando and what you are now. Sister, you were so alive when you came back but now you’re self-punishing because of it. For God’s sake, embrace your life! Take the braid out of your hair and put on a freaking t-shirt. Go travel with your hot Daddy and screw his brains out.”

“Abby!”

“No!” She snapped as she plunged her rag into the bucket so hard, it splashed water all over you and the floor. “You need to live, (Y/N)! We’re not going back! We are in this life, forever and you are making a joke of it! Is this what God would want? You punishing yourself for being different? Listen to what Noah said, that little boy is wise beyond his years. God forgives. Period. But you can’t enjoy life if you’re hiding from it. So please, pretty, pretty please get the stick out of your ass, lose your virginity, and embrace…” Her words were cut off by a loud thump and you both looked back as Sam tripped through the doorway with part of the new bed frame he had graciously bought your sister until she could save up some money to pay back her debts.

“Y-you…” He stammered as he searched your eyes. “You…”

“Sam…” You tried with a shake of your head.

“Hey, move your ass, Winchester! This mattress is heavy!”

“OK.” He said with a nod with a glance over his shoulder at Adam as he turned toward the master bedroom. He looked back at you but you hid your cheery red face from him in shame.

“Thanks, Abigail.” You said with a shake of your head as you scrubbed the floor even harder.

“I didn’t… I didn’t know…”

“Just shut up.” You snapped as you glared at her. “Shut. Up.”

——

You didn’t say a word the whole eight block walk from Abby’s condo in the building across the street from the flower shop to Sam’s condo. You couldn’t even look at your Daddy in the elevator. You were too embarrassed. He knew that you needed time to process your embarrassment so he simply held your hand so you knew that he was there and still protecting you. The moment you walked into your home, you pulled your hand free and beelined to your safe space. He tried not to take it personally as he watched you go, but it still stung that you felt like you couldn’t talk to him. So he did what he knew would get you to open up. He baked cookies.

“Well hey Miss Lady, ma’am.” He said softly as he walked into the play room with a plate of cookies. “Would you happen to know where my sweet little girl is?” He sat down beside the stuffed animal beside the bed, knowing that you were hiding under it behind the blanket you had pulled down as a door and that the stuffed animal was meant to be a guard dog. “You know, I made these cookies…” He said as he put the plate down on the floor where he knew you’d see them. “And I don’t think I can eat all of them by myself. Would you like one, Miss Lady?” He picked up one of the three warm cookies, and leaned against the bed to wait you out. He had barely taken a bite of his cookie when your hand darted out to grab a one of your own.

“So I have this issue, Miss Lady.” Sam said with a small smile. “See, my little girl is currently hiding from me. I’m not exactly sure why but I think I may have an idea. I think she’s a little scared. Scared that I may judge her or maybe be mad at her because she’s still a virgin. But that’s not the case. See, my little girl is just the sweetest, most amazing little I have ever met. She’s got this cute little laugh that just brightens my day in a second. And she has this way of making me forget in a moment how bad my day was just by looking up at me like I hung the stars in the sky.” He paused for a moment as your hand creeped forward to grab another cookie before darting back to your hiding spot with it.

“You know what I think is the best thing ever, though?” He continued as he looked at the melted chocolate on his hand from the cookie he knew he was going to use to bribe you with. “She’s all mine. I get to hold her hand when we walk to work in the mornings. I get to hear her whisper good night to me every night. I get to make her laugh and I get to hear her stories. I get to call her mine… and I’m never, ever letting her go no matter what.” With a small smile, he broke his cookie in half, laid it flat on his palm, and held it just under the blanket where you could reach it. He didn’t continue until you grabbed it. 

“I don’t care if you’re a virgin, my sweet, beautiful, baby girl. I adore how innocent you are. I adore your smile, and how kind you are. I love how you would drop everything to do something for someone else. I love the way you stretch in your sleep and let out probably the cutest little whine right before you wake up. I love how you stick the tip of your tongue out when you’re doing something that you have to concentrate on when you help me cook. Oh, and I love the way you scrunch your nose when I tell you all these little things I love about you. Like you’re probably doing right now.”

“‘m’not.” You grumbled as Sam held out the last part of his cookie. There was a moment’s hesitation before he felt you pull on his fingertips instead. He pulled his hand back and pushed the empty plate and Lady out of his way to lay down on the floor. He lifted the blanket with a smile and offered you the cookie once more.

“What if I’m bad at it? Christine always said I’d get better but I never…”

“Little one, I don’t care.” He said with a shake of his head as he dropped the cookie on the plate behind him and scooted under the bed as best as he could. “(Y/N), I love you.” Your eyes welled up and instantly spilled over as you shook your head.

“I’m sorry!”

“Sorry?” He asked as he reached out to pull you toward him. “What the hell do you have to be sorry for?”

“I lied!” You sobbed as you buried your face in his chest.

“Oh, little one.” He chuckled as he kissed the top of your head. “Baby girl… it’s OK.”

“Daddy… I love you!!!”

“I love you, too, baby girl. And this one time, it’s OK that you lied. But from now on, no more lying. And you need to talk to Daddy more.” He pulled back enough to tilt your head up so he could look you in the eyes. “You have been through… so damn much, little one. More than most people could ever dream. You’ve had a lot of people tell you that you’re not good enough or that you’re not worth it. But they were so, so damn wrong. And even if I have to show you all day, every day for the rest of our lives, you can bet your ass that I will prove that to my good little girl. And yea, I said a potty word.” You smiled as he reached up to wipe away your tears. 

“And just so you know… despite what your old Mommy said, you can’t be bad at sex. You just haven’t been taught yet. Which is also something that, when you’re ready, I will do if you want me too. But you need to stop beating yourself up all the time, little one. You are not a bad person. You are my little girl and that makes you perfect in my eyes. And that’s all that matters, you hear me?” You nodded your head as he leaned forward to kiss your forehead. “Now, you got to eat cookies before we even started dinner, so now, we have to go, and put the rest of the cookies away before we figure out dinner…”

“Pizza?” You asked as he scooted out from under the bed.

“We had pizza two days ago. How about we go to Shake Shack? We haven’t been there in a while, and I kinda feel like this is a chocolate milkshake kinda situation, don’t you?” You nodded your head as he helped you to your feet.

“I gotta shower first.” You said as you tried to snag the other half of cookie, but he held the plate above his head.

“You had your chance to eat it, missy. You go shower because Daddy’s hungry. And you better not pout at me.” He said as he turned to head out of the room to pack up the rest of the cookies. “Are you still pouting?”

“No.” You growled as you stomped out of the room after him to go shower with a pout on your face.

“I better not turn around and see that you’re lying, little one. I will spank you!”

“No!” You squealed as you wiped the pout of your face and ran into your shared bedroom to shower and get ready for dinner.


	5. Chapter 5

“Daddy!” You called out from the closet as you looked at the new wardrobe you and Abby had picked out. “I need help!”

“Princess…” Sam called out as he dried his hair off after his shower. “I know this is not the end of the world…”

“But it is!” You cried as you picked up a pair of black Bermuda shorts and a black and white chevron striped chiffon top because that was easy to color coordinate.

“Little girl, if I come in that closet and you ask me what to wear, I’m gunna spank you! You’re the one who said you wanted to be a big girl and shop.” You bit your lip and held up the outfit against your body to look in the mirror next to the door way out of the closet. You huffed, because you were the one who had agreed to not wear dresses for one whole month, before groaning in frustration. “Do I need to come in there?”

“No.” You groaned as you grabbed a white tank top from the pile and carried them back out into the bathroom. “This stuff is hard!”

“Well no one said it would be easy, princess.” You glared at him as you pulled on the tank top. 

“Being a big girl is hard.” You sighed as you pulled on the shorts as he walked across the room and gave you a little spank. “Ow! Daddy!”

“Just saying hello.” He cooed as he kissed your cheek. “Now hurry up, butter cup. We gotta get my family from the airport.”

“Do you think they’ll like me?” You asked as you buttoned the shorts. “I mean, I’m still really weird…”

“What have I said about that word?” You sighed as you pulled on the top and headed back into the closet.

“That’s it’s just as bad as stupid and swear words.”

“That’s right. You’re special. And they will love you.” You nodded your head as you pulled out a pair of black and a pair of white ballet flats.

“Daddy…” You said as you turned toward him with the two pairs. “I think white. Right?” He looked over at you as he pulled one of his “weekend flannels” off the hanger.

“Either is fine.” He said with a nod as he pulled his shirt on over a navy t-shirt. “So yes, go with white.” With a nod of your head, you dropped the white pair on the floor and put the black pair back in their cubby in the cabinet. You stepped into your shoes and walked back out to the bathroom to get the stack of bracelets Sam had bought you, which were still a little strange for you to wear because you had never owned a piece of jewelry in your life.

“I’m nervous, Daddy.”

“I know you are, little one.” You lifted your arms a bit as Sam slid his around your waist. “But I promised you I would protect you, didn’t I?”

“For always.” You said with a nod as you turned in his arms.

“Then don’t you think I’m gunna stay true to my word today?” You nodded your head as you held on to the fronts of his shirt. “Listen to me. Dean is loud. That’s just Dean. His girlfriend, Cassie tries to keep him in check, but it doesn’t always work. Claire is a typical, modern age young adult. She’s 20 and spends most of her time on the phone. She’s dad’s Goddaughter that we sort of adopted when her parents died in a car accident. My dad is scary. He doesn’t mean to be. He just is. But my mom. Oh, you’re gunna love my mom. And she’s gunna love you.”

“Do they know… about me, I mean?”

“They know you’re my little girl.” He said with a nod. “But I’d keep the Daddy’s to a minimum. Dean will give me shit for it and I don’t want you to take it personally. But, you have my full permission to use the f-word when you tell him to shut up.” You giggled and nodded your head as he leaned down to give you a kiss. “Come on, baby girl. We gotta go.”

——

“Daddy…” You whispered as you held on to his hand tightly and let him lead you through the busy, over crowded airport. 

“I’ve got you. You’re doing great.” With a small whine, you scooted a little closer to his side and held on to his wrist with your other hand.

“They all look so mad.” You commented as you stopped behind him at the luggage carousel to wait.

“Well flying can be stressful, sweetheart. Lots of people coming and going, trying to get home, or start their vacations, or their work week. It’s a little hectic. You’ll see. One day I’ll take you on a vacation or maybe our trip to Kansas for Christmas…”

“Can’t we drive?” You asked as you looked up at him.

“No, we can’t.” He chuckled as he looked down at you. “Big girl, remember? We’re facing our fears.” You nodded your head and turned when someone yelled Sam’s name over the loud buzz of people. Dean looked a little older than the photos Sam had hanging up in his living room, but just like in the photographs, he looked so much like his brother, and his father. You unwillingly let go of Sam’s hand so he could say hello and held your own hands nervously.

“You must be (Y/N).” Mary said sweetly as she walked past her husband and sons toward you. “It is so nice to finally meet you. I brought you something.” You looked down at her hands as she reached out to gently pull your hands toward her. “I think someone needs to remember to keep swimming in scary moments, right?” You nodded as she slipped a palm sized Baby Dory stuffie in your hand and wrapped your fingers around it. “We’re not that scary, I promise.”

“Thank you.” You said as you looked up at her with a smile. She nodded her head and very slowly embraced you in a hug. “It’s nice to finally meet you.” 

“You, too, sweetheart.” She pulled back but kept her hand on your shoulder as she waved Claire and Cassie over. “This is my daughter, Claire…”

“Adopted.” Claire interrupted quickly with a glance up from her phone. She couldn’t help, but smile back at you when you smiled at her as Mary shot her a subtle look.

“And this is Dean’s girlfriend, Cassie.”

“I love your top.” She said as she took a step forward and held out her hand for you to shake.

“Thank you.” You nearly whispered. “My sister helped me pick it out. I’m trying to stay away from dresses for a while.”

“Well if you want another shopping partner, I am always looking for someone to go with. Maybe we can call your sister and we can all do a girls day? Only if you are comfortable with that.” You nodded at Cassie as Sam came over with the bags.

“I rented a limo to take us back to the house. (Y/N)’s never been in one, and I figured with the amount of people and the amount of bags we have, it’d be better than cramming into an SUV or something.”

“A limo? The long one, right?” He nodded his head as Dean came over and pat your shoulder a little roughly.

“Just make sure you hang on to your floral bonnet if you stand up in the sunroof.” Your brow furrowed and you tilted your head the slightest bit, missing the joke completely. 

“I didn’t have a floral bonnet. Only black.” Dean huffed a laugh before Cassie punched him in the arm.

“Ignore him, little one.” Sam said as he took your hand in his, capturing Dory between your palms. “He’s an idiot on his best day.”

——

“Daddy, is this right?” You whispered as you looked at the recipe for the cake you were making for Mary and John’s 40th anniversary while Sam made dinner. He looked over at the ingredients you had carefully laid out in order on the counter, double checking your progress as you went since you had never made a box cake like this before.

“Good so far, baby girl. Into that bowl, OK?” You nodded your head and stepped back up to the counter. You read, and verbally repeated the steps to yourself under your breath just to make sure you got the dessert right. “Damn, you are so cute, little one.”

“Daddy, shhh!” You said as you poured the water and oil over the powdered mix. Both those measuring cups went into the sink and you picked up the eggs carefully. “Gentle taps. Tap, tap, tap.” Sam looked away from the pesto chicken fettuccini he was making and looked over your shoulder just to make sure you didn’t get any shell in the batter and nodded his head when you did it perfectly. With a smile, he turned back to the stove to flip the chicken as you tossed the shells in the trash.

“Now don’t forget the…” He started to say as you put the bowl under the beaters, but you didn’t wait long enough to hear him finish before flipping the switch. You shrieked and panicked as batter was whipped from the bowl, covering everything in the kitchen in chocolate muck including you, Sam… and your dinner.

“I’m sorry!” You said as you covered your mouth with your hands while Sam shut off the mixer quickly. “I…”

“Oh, baby girl.” Sam chuckled before he set down his spatula and started to laugh. “It’s OK, come here.” You stepped into his open arms as he shook his head and looked over at Mary. “She’s OK. Just forgot the towel for the mixer.”

“Happens to the best of us.” She agreed. “I’ll grab the mop.”

“Daddy, I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s OK.” He pulled back and used his fingers to tilt your head up. “Accidents happen. And accidents can be cleaned up, right, my chocolate covered little girl.”

“Well shit. You even got it on the ceiling. Good job, kid.” Dean said as he came in from the living room to check out the damage. 

“Dean!” Mary snapped as tears welled in your eyes.

“Hey, let’s go get cleaned up. That shirt’s gunna stain otherwise.” You nodded your head and sniffled as Sam turned off the stove and glared at his brother. “I will kick your ass, remember that.”

“What is wrong with you?” Claire asked as Sam lead you to the bedroom. “Even I’m not that shitty.”

“I ruined everything.” You said as you stood in the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror.

“Did you? Because the way I see it, you didn’t ruin… this spot.” He wrapped his arms around you and kissed a clean spot on your temple with a smile. “Or… this one.” You smiled as he moved his head to the other side to kiss your cheek. “Any other ones you can see?”

“Right here.” You said softly as you turned your head to kiss his jaw.

“What about right here?” Sam asked as he tapped his lips. You shook your head as you kissed his clean lips with a small smile. “So how do you think you ruined everything? Because from where I’m sitting, you just gave us a fun story to tell. And, you made it so we could order out instead.”

“Can I pick?”

“You can come up with ideas.” He said as he walked over to turn on the shower for you. “But we have other people we have to consider, little one. Shower. I gotta go be tall Daddy and get some chocolate off the ceiling.”

——

“So if you had to pick one thing…” Claire asked you over dinner as the seven of you sat around the table serving yourself from the dozen or so Chinese take out containers. “That you love most about being out, what would it be?”

“Air conditioning.” You said with a smile as you looked up at Sam’s ‘sister’. “And heaters. They go hand in hand. In the winter, having six sisters came in handy. Push two bunkbeds together in one room and everyone huddles together. But in summer? It’s just hot. And it doesn’t cool off.”

“You have six sisters?” John asked as he passed his wife the fried rice. You nodded your head as you took a sip of water and put your glass down.

“Um.. the Amish don’t believe in um… birth control. We believe it’s Gods will.”

“Well that’s always fun.” Dean said under his breath before Cassie elbowed him.

“She has two brothers, too.” Sam said, reminding you yourself since tended to forget them.

“How fast can you name them all?” Claire asked with a smile. You took a deep breath, playfully and held up your hand to count on your fingers.

“AnneMarie, Alexandra, AllieMae, Me, Rebecca, Mary, Abigail, Noah, and…” Your brain short circuited as your last brother’s name was lost to you.

“Ethan.”

“No, Eli.” You corrected Sam as you put up your last finger. “Yea, Eli.”

“See that’s why you don’t want a big family, Cas. You start to forget names.” You looked over at Dean as John smacked him on the back of his head as the whole table except for you said his name.

“May I ask you something?” You said evenly as you set your fork down on your plate and looked over at Dean. “Are you normally this rude to someone you’ve just met or are you honestly just that big an asshole?” His head whipped over to you and his eyes went wide as you waited for a moment for his answer. 

“My sisters were my best friends. We taught each other everything we know. Rebecca knows how to tie her shoes because Alexandra taught me and everyone else. AllieMae taught me how to make the best apple pie in the state of Pennsylvania from scratch because AnneMarie taught us all how to read. I can tell you every birthmark, scar, and mole, every story, inside joke, favorite anything, heartbreak, and love interest of every single one of my sisters because that’s how close we were. But when I was kicked out of my home at 18 for telling them my rumspringa story, I lost them. All of them. In this life and the next. Which included learning about my two little brothers, who were born after I left home. 

The only reason I know they even exist is because I had to rescue my baby sister in the middle of the night because she would have been forced into a marriage she didn’t want to be in because she was pregnant. That is if she wasn’t kicked out to the streets with the clothes on her back for being gay. And in that rescue, my seven year old little brothers, who actually asked me if I was really bad like my father told them over and over, saw me take their big sister away from them which probably made me more of a monster in their eyes. So you tell me, Dean. Do you think you would remember Sam’s name if you never knew he was born and only met him for one whole minute of your life while trying to save someone else from a life of hell? And while you contemplate that, please go fuck yourself.” You barely glanced over at Sam to be excused and he nodded his head before he had completely met your tear filled eyes. You bolted up from your chair and walked quickly toward your little space as Sam glared daggers at his brother.

“I don’t know what your fucking problem is.” He said as you slammed the door behind you. “But that woman has been through hell in her life. She came from nothing, and has seen every single type of abuse out there. I have worked for months showing her that she is worth the world because I know she is worth more than what she thinks she is. I love her, Dean and I’ve known since the night I met her that I will marry her one day. So if you don’t like that, do me a favor and get the fuck out of my house. And the next time you give her shit for anything you think is weird or anything at all, I will kick your fucking ass.” He stood up and started collecting both of your dinner dishes until Mary got to her feet in the chair beside yours.

“Let me help.” She said softly as John and Cassie started laying into Dean as well.

“She’ll be hiding under the bed.” Sam said softly as the two of them walked back toward the little play room. “It’s her safe space. But just… just don’t try to talk to her. I know, it’s just…”

“Sam, it’s OK.” She said as the pair of them stopped outside the door. “You know her best. I’ll talk to Dean. That’s unacceptable all around.” Sam nodded in agreement as he used his elbow to open the door. Mary followed him into the pink room and glanced down at the jumbled pile of stuffed animals on the floor that you had just swooped off their bed to protect you. She set your plate down besides Sam’s and pat his shoulder before walking out of the room with a sigh. The moment the door closed behind her, you started to cry.

“I know, come here, baby girl.” Sam said as he lifted the blanket up. You scrambled out from under the bed, crawled into his lap, and sobbed as he hugged you tight. “I’m sorry, baby girl.” His own heart broke as the reality that he wasn’t able to protect his little girl twisted in his gut. “Daddy’s sorry, little one. Daddy’s so, so sorry.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Hey Sam.” You said softly as you stood in the doorway of the bathroom. “Umm I know we’re going to the zoo with your family and all… but could I ask Abby to come with us?” Sam looked over at you as he finished brushing his teeth and nodded vigorously. 

“You want her as a buffer from Dean, don’t you?” He asked as he put his tooth brush back, and turned around to look at you.

“I just…” You started as you looked down at your hands. “I don’t want to take you away from your family while they’re in town but I don’t wanna miss the zoo…”

“Little one.” You whined as he reached out to lift your chin with his knuckles. “I will never say no to your sister coming with us anywhere ever. She’s funny. And after what my idiot brother pulled yesterday, I don’t blame you for wanting her there with you. But you know as well as I do, that like it or not, we’re unfortunately stuck with him.” He curled up his lip in a slightly disgusted face, making a smile pull at the corner of your lips. “Call Abby. We’ll meet her half way and grab a taxi there. And I’ll give you one f-word today when it comes to Dean. Consider it your weapon and use it wisely.” You nodded as he kissed you gently. 

“Thank you, Daddy.”

——

“So this is the asshole giving you shit?” Abby asked in your first language as you walked up the block toward her.

“Nu uh.” Sam scolded as you smiled at your only family. “English only.”

“You’re no fun.” Abby said as she stood on her tiptoes to give your boyfriend a hug.

“How’s baby?” You asked as you rubbed your sisters small bump.

“It’s doing its baby thing. I already switched into maternity jeans.”

“Oh, you poor thing.” You teased as you turned to introduce her to Sam’s family. “This is my youngest sister, Abby. These are Sam’s parents, Mary and John. His brother Dean, and his girlfriend Cassie. And…”

“Claire.” She said as she took a step forward with her hand out. “Just Claire. I’m adopted.”

“Which she likes to point out to everyone she meets.” Mary said with a small sigh. “It’s so nice to meet you, Abby. We were so excited to hear we’d get to meet you today.”

“I mean, I am pretty awesome.” Abby said, teasingly, causing you to pinch her arm.

“Excuse her lack of manners.” You glared over at her as Sam hailed a pair of taxi’s at the corner.

“I’ll ride with you guys.” Claire said a little quickly as she smiled at your sister. “Even split that way.” You shared a look with Sam, then Mary as Claire walked ahead to hold the door open for you and your sister. 

“Oh, I see this turning out interesting.” Dean chuckled on his way back to the second cab. You didn’t really have a choice but to get in last since Claire slid in after Abby and Sam got in the front seat. Claire, who had been relatively silent and surly since she got off the plane, became a chatty Cathy almost instantly. And you could see just by the look on her face that Abby was in love.

“Well there goes my buffer.” You said softly as you reached up to hold Sam’s shoulder.

“Still got me, baby.” He said with a smile as he turned in his chair to look back at you.

“What if I don’t want you?” He huffed as he reached up and pulled your hand forward.

“Well you’re stuck with me, little girl.” 

——

“I don’t think I’ve seen her this happy in a long, long time.” Mary said as she sat beside you, partially watching the boys watch the bee eater birds get fed, and partially watching Claire and Abby flirt with each other without actually asking each other out. 

“I don’t think I’ve ever seen her this happy, period.” Cassie said on your other side.

“Same with Abby.” You said with a nod. “Not since I left for Orlando at least.”

“Guess this is Claire’s way of coming out.” Cassie said with a small shrug. “Guess I owe Dean ten bucks.”

“And John owes me twenty.” Mary said with a small smirk.

“I’ve always known Abigail was different.” You said with a shake of your head as you watched your sister reach out to take Claire’s hand and play with her fingers. “She had lots of friends but you could tell she looked at the girls a little different. Alexandra always used to say she’d be the one to leave the community.”

“Can we ask about that?” Cassie inquired softly. “Like leaving and what not.”

“Of course you can.” You said with a small nod as you looked over at her with a smile and tucked your hands under your thighs. “The Amish community is a mystery to most.”

“What’s it like?” She said as she turned on the bench. “I mean, I can’t imagine life without my cell phone.”

“Well, you have to figure I didn’t have a cell phone until I was seventeen. And even then, I never kept it on me. Shoot, if Sam didn’t plug mine in every night before bed and remind me to grab it before work, I wouldn’t even remember I owned it. I’d much prefer to watch the world around me than live it through a device on that face-thing.”

“What happened when you left?” Mary asked, causing you to sigh.

“The first time I was allow to go.” You started as you looked over at Sam, who was watching you out of the corner of his eye. “AllieMae and I went down to Disney. She lasted all of a week total from the time we left to the time she went back to find a husband and commit to the Amish lifestyle. I stayed. Orlando was so overwhelming but so… big and new and there was so much to explore. So that’s what I did. I lived, I learned, I moved in with a woman. I was sixteen- young and stupid. But being with a woman wasn’t something I wanted long term. After Orlando and the almost two years, I just wanted to go home and settle back into my life. But I apparently crossed a line that I couldn’t uncross. So I was asked to leave.”

“You poor thing.” Mary said as she rubbed your thigh.

“I survived.” You said with a nod. “Barely for a long while. But Sam’s saved my life. You raised an amazing son, Mary. I don’t think I could ever thank you for that. But I will do everything I can to do right by him the way he has me.”

“And that’s all we ask of you, sweetheart. That you love him.” You nodded your head and looked up as Sam walked over to you.

“Penguin time?” He asked, causing you to smile and nod.

“Please.” With a nod, he pulled you to your feet and laced his fingers with yours.

“You having fun?”

“Loads. Thank you for bringing me.” With a nod, he stopped just long enough to lean down and kiss your nose.

“Of course, little one.”


End file.
